A new analysis is shedding light on Earth's first macroscopic animals: the 570-million-year-old, enigmatic Ediacara biota. Ediacaran fossils have a slightly bizarre appearance not shared by any modern animal groups. For decades, researchers believed these enigmatic fossils were ecologically simple. However, borrowing a method from modern ecology -- fitting species to relative abundance distributions -- Vanderbilt University paleontologist Simon A.F. Darroch and his team learned that these organisms were more like modern animals than once thought. The analyses showed that a majority of fossil assemblages bear the hallmarks of being ecologically complex, and Ediacara biota were forming complex communities tens of millions of years before the Cambrian explosion. The creatures lived partially submerged in what was once the ocean floor, some of them suspension feeding, others filter feeding, still others passively absorbing nutrition. A few were even mobile. Complex communities are ones … [Read more...] about Earth’s oldest animals formed complex ecological communities
Modern forms lighting
Shape-shifting material can morph, reverse itself using heat, light
A new material developed by University of Colorado Boulder engineers can transform into complex, pre-programmed shapes via light and temperature stimuli, allowing a literal square peg to morph and fit into a round hole before fully reverting to its original form. The controllable shape-shifting material, described today in the journal Science Advances, could have broad applications for manufacturing, robotics, biomedical devices and artificial muscles. "The ability to form materials that can repeatedly oscillate back and forth between two independent shapes by exposing them to light will open up a wide range of new applications and approaches to areas such as additive manufacturing, robotics and biomaterials," said Christopher Bowman, senior author of the new study and a Distinguished Professor in CU Boulder's Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (CHBE). Previous efforts have used a variety of physical mechanisms to alter an object's size, shape or texture with … [Read more...] about Shape-shifting material can morph, reverse itself using heat, light
$4.75M ultra-modern home on St. Croix River is like ‘living in a work of art’
Living in her sculptural home, designed by acclaimed Twin Cities architect Charles Stinson, is like “living in a work of art,” according to Victoria Miller. The home’s geometric silhouette is characteristically Stinson with its creative juxtaposition of vertical and horizontal forms. The 4,800-square-foot home, built in 2011, is perched on a bluff overlooking the St. Croix River in Denmark Township, about 6 miles south of Afton. It’s now on the market for $4.75 million. The lines are blurred between indoors and out, thanks to bands of clerestory windows, full-height windows and a glass stair tower. And it’s easy to get down to the 600 feet of riverfront — either via mechanical tram or along a walking path. “We really enjoy the energy of living on the always changing river,” said Miller. “We’re in harmony with nature here.” Miller, and her husband, Jim Carter, had always admired Stinson homes on architecture tours. … [Read more...] about $4.75M ultra-modern home on St. Croix River is like ‘living in a work of art’
Zurich wants to let bike riders run (some) red lights
Bike riders in Zurich. File photo: Depositphotos It's one of the fault lines of modern civilisation: the divide between cyclists and other road users. That drama was played out in miniature in Zurich City Council on Wednesday night when councillors debated changes to the law that would allow cyclists to run some red lights in the city. The proposal put forward by the Green Liberals would see the Swiss city follow the lead of Paris in introducing a modified form of the so-called Idaho stop in a bid to make cycling safer and easier. Since 2015, cyclists in the French capital have been able to cycle through a red light when there is a special yellow sign (see below) indicating this is legal. The new Paris rules only apply to right turns or going straight at a T-junction and are part of a push to encourage cycling in the French capital. In effect, red lights have become give way signs with cyclists having to take due care. This is what the Green Liberals in Zurich were pushing for … [Read more...] about Zurich wants to let bike riders run (some) red lights
Motherless, but Growing Toward the Light
Sections SEARCH Skip to content Skip to site index Style Subscribe Log In Subscribe Log In Advertisement Supported by Modern Love Abandoned by her parents as a child, a woman finds an unlikely candidate to help fill the “mother-shaped hole” in her heart. ByColter Jackson May 11, 2018 Here Marriage connects two families, each with their own language, customs and way of chopping onions. Uniting the differences can be like trying to piece Pangea back together. Further complication: I have a mother-shaped hole in my heart. The story of my childhood in rural Missouri is not a tidy one. My mother basically abandoned me as a young child, sending me from the constant chaos of her domestic situations to live with others again and again. My father wasn’t around at all. The burden of raising me fell upon my wonderful extended family; grandparents, aunts, uncles and older siblings all took turns. But no one can take the place of a … [Read more...] about Motherless, but Growing Toward the Light